Pages

7.17.2013

I took my sewing machine to get serviced. It's been a year since I bought it and it still makes me happy. I know that Janome has a new version of the Horizon, but I like mine, thank you very much.

So, my machine is back. And I started piecing the frame to the blocks for Amish with a Twist. It's very exciting and I'm glad to know how to do frames. I will try to do one frame a day for twelve days and get this thing put together.

I think this will be a gift, so you might not see it for a bit, but I enjoyed doing this particular pattern very much. Practice, practice, practice is good for this girl; and I really like doing samplers. I might make one for us, but I think in cream.

7.05.2013

Quilt fabric companies have a great marketing plan. They have contests and have professional quilt bloggers make scrumptious quilts with pre-released fabric. It gets a girl wanting more fabric. Always wanting more fabric. This scenario played out last fall when V & Co came out with the Simply Color line. It's yummy isn't it? And speaks to my style completely.

So, I bought a fat quarter bundle and gave it to the hubba-hubba to wrap and give me for Christmas. I didn't know what to do with it, but I knew I'd be inspired.

I was inspired by this Skittles Quilt and pinned it as soon as I read the blog post. I ordered the fabric and let it sit on my TBQ pile until I had time to work on it.

In the meantime, I needed to learn how to applique. Circles. I recommend not learning how to applique with circles. Not fun. I took an Anything Goes class at our local quilt shop and the lovely Barb R departed her skills. And slowly I made circles using the Perfect Circles method. (Mine were less-than-perfect.)

In May, I had a week where I was allergic to the outside. I took the opportunity to applique these circles on the grey panel. It was scarier than it sounds. First, I had to take the ombre fabric and find the perfect spot and r-r-r-rip the fabric. It's a scary process...and if it doesn't make any sense...read the instructions. I will say the color match where I had to rip was pretty spot-on. Whew!

After I finished ... and it took all week, I contacted the lovely Elvira and arranged for her to quilt it. She did a great job.

While I was waiting for the quilt to come back, I continued to work on the bom Amish with a Twist. After lesson 12, they had a beautiful pillow project and thought it would be a great accompaniment. I quilted that myself and I think it looks spectacular. The grey really makes the green fabric go POP!

I finished it in time for our trip to coastal California to give to my husband's brother and family. Happily, they love it. It looks great, doesn't it?